RGB values for various colours

The colours only display differently - if you connected a single colour printer to each in turn and printed the same illustration you would get consistant print outputs. However, if you connected different printers in turn you would get different print outputs.

Bottom line, you have to adjust the RGB output to your specific printer to get the right colour printout. Getting the correct theoretical RGB mix in the first place is a good starting point for minor final adjustment. Who said life was meant to be easy?

Greg.P.

Then you need to adjust one or more of the displays. It's "easy" to make them all the same, getting them correct is a little harder ;-)

MBQ

I don't think that will work, as such. I have a Dell running Linux, a Risc-PS running RiscOS, and another Dell running XP on my desk - all of them dispay a given site in wildly differing colours.........

Cheers Richard

Not too easy - two are TFT, one is CRT!

Cheers Richard

As other posters have stated, that's essentially impossible. Everybody's monitor and printer would have to be calibrated to exactly the same colour standards for this to work.

Anyhow, most people have wildly incorrect notions about colour perception, and hence of "correct" colours. The fact is that there are no "correct" colours for model trains. There are only colours that look more or less right.

So, what affects colour perception? My reading, discussions with other people, and personal experience result in the following conclusions. (I'm ignoring colour blindness.) A, B, and C are IMO the most important, the rest are in no particular order. Keep in mind that colour is part of the illusion of realism that we wish to achieve. "Correct" colours may or may not contribute to that illusion.

A) Ambient light is the single most important factor. Any colour will look different under incandescent and fluorescent lights, for example. The dominant colour(s) (paint, wall paper) in the room have an effect. Colours look different under bright sun and overcast skies. And so on. --> To make your models to look right on the layout, use the same lighting at the workbench and on the layout. --> Attach a lighting system to a portable layout.

B) Layout lighting is much dimmer than outdoor light. Dark colours look too dark, and bright colours look too bright. --> Choose lighter tones of dark colours, and darker tones of light colours.

C) Consistent colour is more important than correct colour. Unfortunately, every manufacturer has its own version of GWR Green, for example. --> Apply thin washes greys, whites, browns, blacks to achieve consistent tones.

D) Model paints from different manufacturers contain different toners, so they often look the same in one kind of light and different in another. Also, different formulations (oil, enamel, acrylic) respond differently to light. --> Standardise on one brand and type of colour.

E) RAL and Pantone colour specs are set for specific lighting (colour temperature), which is different than the colour temperature of layout lighting. However, they are consistent, which means that a suite of RAL paints and Pantone inks will achieve that consistency that makes for the right appearance.

F) Colours weather and fade, making for subtle but sometimes surprisingly large variations in the colour of supposedly identical rolling stock. Similar variations in model rolling stock are therefore OK, in fact will contribute to the desired illusion.

G) Film does not "see" colour the same way as the human eye/brain. It also fades. This makes colour prints and slides unreliable guides to colour.

H) Digital cameras vary in their ability to "balance" colours in different lighting conditions. The same is true of scanning software. This makes digital images unreliable guides to colour. It gets worse when the images are printed out.

I) The human visual system is very good at adjusting colour perception in different lighting conditions so that a scene looks right. This means that with a little help (see A, B, C) your layout will look just wonderful! ;-)

HTH

Reply to all and sundry

On each page about particular railways just wanted some block colour as near as possible.

Might have to scan samples and see what they do.

Yes, or find a web site that uses the colour you're after and see what they are using.

As Wolf says, go for the "look and feel" rather than exact colours, not least as the results seen by users may not be quite what you expect. I had red on green on my site for a while, which looked realy nice with RiscOS, but after a few moans I looked it on the XP machine and, well arrrrrggggghhhh! - it looked horrible!

I also tried what I approximated to BR blue on my other site - you couldn't read anything! I had to make it much lighter, but it still says "BR Blue era", at least to me....

Cheers Richard

This site states what has been said above but does give the 'base' RGB values ......